The present invention generally relates to integrated lancing test devices, and more specifically, but not exclusively, concerns a device and technique for expressing a body fluid.
The acquisition and testing of body fluids is useful for many purposes, and continues to grow in importance for use in medical diagnosis and treatment, and in other diverse applications. A common technique for collecting a body fluid sample is to form an incision in the skin to bring the fluid to the skin surface. A cutting instrument is used to form the incision in the skin. The resulting blood or interstitial fluid specimen is then collected in a small tube or other container, or is placed directly in contact with a test strip. The fingertip is frequently used as the fluid source because it is highly vascularized and therefore produces a good quantity of blood. However, the fingertip also has a large concentration of nerve endings, and lancing the fingertip can therefore be painful. Alternate sampling sites, such as the palm of the hand, forearm, earlobe and the like, may be useful for sampling, and are less painful. However, they also produce lesser amounts of blood.
An increase in blood flow to the fingertips allows a shallower incision, thus reducing the pain caused by the incision. While devices exist to increase blood flow to the sample sites, they generally do so by applying a tourniquet around the body part in which the incision is made. Because the devices wrap around the body part in close proximity to the location of the incision, these devices make it more difficult for the patient to view the incision site and testing operation. Thus, there is a need for improvement in this field.